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Do Your Own Set
This week I started taking a stand-up comedy class. And, if I didn't know any better, I might have mistaken my teacher for a Coach instead of being the stand-up comedian that he is. In the very first class, we were instructed to "do your own set". And what he meant by this is that we do the kind of material and show we want to do. Not the show that a club owner, manager, agent or audience wants us to do.
I'm sitting in a room full of would be comics, stressing about how in the next few minutes I needed to go up onstage and be funny -- and I'm being coached! Instead of being told how to structure a joke (I think we will cover this in the second or third class), I am being instructed to tell stories from my perspective and to express my unique voice. I'm being told to honor my way of being. Who would have thought a stand-up comedy class would offer a life lesson?
Are you doing your own set in life?
Are you aware of your unique gifts as a human being? Do you know what your strengths are? Do you know what your personal rhythms are? And are you using this information to help create the life you want and aspire to?
For example, perhaps you've noticed that one of your personal rhythms is that your brain really doesn't kick in until afternoon. If this is a personal rhythm for you, what about scheduling your challenging work and projects for later in the day? You may be thinking: "Yes, that's a great idea and I'd love to do it, but I have important meetings I have to attend first thing in the morning." "I have to be productive in the morning because my staff starts bombarding me with questions even before I get to my desk." "I have to be up early because I work a day job so I can support myself as an artist."
And, I ask you again, are you doing your own set in life? How can you build on the fact that you are most creative and productive in the afternoon? And what kind of actions do you need to take to create this shift for yourself?
People who come alive in the afternoon is just one example; if you look around your life you may find other places where you simply aren't doing your own set. Places where you aren't being true to yourself and who you are.
Take a moment or two this week and observe where you may not be honoring who you are or situations where you are being what someone else wants you to be. What could your life look like if you gave up fighting against your natural inclinations and gifts?
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